The Value of the book of Obadiah<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
 
            It is likely that Obadiah was written very soon after a defeated <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Jerusalem gave up her citizens to Babylonian captivity.  Accomplishing this task was no easy feat and the Babylonians used the people of Edom to help round up the Jews for captivity.  In the introduction to the English Standard Translation of the Bible we see the guilt of the Edomites laid bare:
They even took up residence in some Judean villages. This angered the Lord, for the Edomites, as descendants of Esau, were related to the Israelites (Gen. 25:21–26, 30) and therefore should have helped them. Obadiah prophesied that Edom would be repaid for mistreating God's people. Obadiah also asserted that God is sovereign over the nations and that the house of Jacob would be restored because of God's covenant love for His people.[1]
 
It is important to note that this shortest Old Testament book is not quoted in the New Testament at all.  To many it may seem obscure and in fact in a way it is.  It speaks about a nation of people having nothing to do with us today and yet it remains an important book…why?  I believe that this book tells us something very important about God's justice.  God does not forget and He seems intent on reminding us repeatedly of His impending judgment on Edom (Isa. 11:14; 34:5-17; 63:1-6; Jer. 9:25-26; 25:17-26; 49:7-22; Lam. 4:21-22; Ezek. 25:12-14; 35; Joel 3:19; Amos 1:11-12; 9:11-12; Obad.; Mal. 1:4).  The Bible Knowledge Commentary had this to say regarding this important book:
This small book speaks of the danger of the great sin of pride and arrogance, the feeling of superiority that often results from taking advantage of others. Obadiah graphically illustrates on a national scale the truth of Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."[2]
 
George Freidman in his most recent book called The Next Hundred Years makes the case that the next century will be the American century.  It is compelling reading and it made me feel Patriotic.  Unfortunately it is not based on a Biblical worldview but rather on a completely material worldview.  His theories are based on macro-trends in geopolitical history and he seems to think he has it all figured out.  I respect his scholarship but I disagree with his conclusions. 
America, like Edom, is full of false pride and will fall.  We are experiencing it as we speak.  Even as I write this I feel a bit like Miciah in 1 Kings 22 as he listens to the false prophet make bold declarations of victory and invincibility even while he brings a message of doom.  Today we read this in a country where untold thousands of unborn babies are thrown in garbage cans.  In ancient Israel even when the people sacrificed their babies to Dagon they at least buried them, we simply throw them away.  Today as we read this we are seeing sodomy and pornography become normalized and Islamic jihadists the greatest defenders of morality.  We sell Britney Spears to the world and she sells false Christianity to them all as she wears a cross.  Hollyweird most loudly proclaims our faith and many pastors are getting in line to be more likeable through politically correct, felt-needs messages of comfort.  Without actually ranting, where do we get all of our pride?  Nancy Pelosi lauds the wonderful fact that women are in power yet denies the very basis for equality in her policies, equality based on our image bearing capacity as laid out in our Declaration of Independence.  The very basis for our nation's greatness is God and He is being pushed out of every aspect of public life.  It is ironic that, as we publicly tell our children that they come from slime having no God, we also tell them to feel good about it.  We have more people failing math in school than ever before but guess what?  They feel better about it than ever before.  No one gets spanked because that might traumatize our children yet we send them to schools where they might get mowed down by crazed teens "lacking self esteem."    God help us, as we are worse than Edom in our pride and arrogant rebellion.  Today is the day to be ready.  The American Church is on the brink of being persecuted as we, in our "Hate-speech" called Scripture, proclaim the truth of God's wrath and yes, enduring love.  I believe Obadiah is a very important book indeed.  God

[1]The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ob.

[2]John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary., The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 1:1453.